Best Time to Purchase Airfare

[Reva_Dearchi]

Greetings,

 

I saw an Oprah show once where they told you exactly when the best time to purchase airfare was. It was a specific day or time of year but it was a time when you could get the absolute best prices. Anyone know when that is?

 

Thanks

[loudbmw]

Tips I have heard or tried:

 

One tactic that worked for me was buying 270 days out (the max. the major airlines will book ahead). We were planning to book a holiday sailing on the Carnival Legend and airfare around holidays can be high..

 

Exactly 270 days out from our travel date I booked the airfare for the four of us after midnight. The next day, the fare went up about $40 each.

 

Other tricks for restricted low cost fares are to check very early in the morning midweek (tue. wed. thur.). Fares on weekends for restricted fares tend to be higher.

 

I have found prices from the major on-line travel agencies that the airlines would not match when I phoned them direct. Never could figure that one out.

 

Restricted cheap seats can be very limited, sometimes only a couple each flight if they think they will have a full plane.

 

The most important advise is: if you see a great fare - book it! It may not be there 4 hours later.

[Reva_Dearchi]

Thanks a lot! I'll try the 270 days. One airline (on-line) said flights are available 330 before the date. I'll try that as well. I'm looking for a great deal to Rome as I'm considering the Liberty.

 

Thanks Again!

[judyf]

I missed the 270 days for my 3/19/02 cruise. What would be my best bet for the best deal! I want to leave alb NY on Friday 3/18 and return either Easter Sunday after cruise on 327 or Mon 3/28. Any Ideas????

 

I've been searching and right now I thought it might be best to wait till Southwest release those dates. This could be a very expensise cruise!

[lmondrop]

I missed the 270 days for my 3/19/02 cruise. What would be my best bet for the best deal! I want to leave alb NY on Friday 3/18 and return either Easter Sunday after cruise on 327 or Mon 3/28. Any Ideas????

 

I've been searching and right now I thought it might be best to wait till Southwest release those dates. This could be a very expensise cruise!

If you look for fares in the beggining of the week....such as Monday, Tuesday or sometime sWednesday you may find them cheaper then later in the week...also at midnight on certain days you can find cheaper fares. Spirit has a fare sale at midnight I believe on Tuesdays and thursdays.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Just keep checking. Sometimes even in one day fares can change. For our cruise in November out of Tampa, our tickets on AA were $189 a person from Chicago. Kept periodically checking on the price and noticed it had gone down enough for AA to issue us credit vouchers for the $27 fare drop. Now today just for the heck of it I checked again and the fare is now $857.20!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: From Chicago to Tampa??? They're insane!

 

So anyway, if you see a fare that seems reasonable to you, grab it! :)

[beansatw]

If memory serves me correct, the airfare trick that Oprah once mentioned was to check after 10:30 PM on Tuesdays. It seems to work, I suppose - the last ticket I bought was $110 cheaper on Wednesday AM than it was a mere 24 hours earlier.

[atonal1]

There really is a best day of the week to buy airline tickets. Not Monday or Friday, but Wednesday. Guess what? There is even a best time on Wednesday. It's 12:00 - 1:00 A.M.* Wednesday morning because the airlines usually reload their computers with latest low cost fares that were announced the previous day but will be canceled if they are not purchased within 24 hours.

 

*(Note: The time is in reference to whatever city the airline's headquarters is located in. Example: America West - Phoenix.)

[Reva_Dearchi]

Thanks to you all! I'll let you know what happens.

[Facation Fanatic]

I have tried all the tricks and haven't found anything that was consistent. It's all a gamble as to when the seats go up or down and I've seen as much as a $162 difference from morning to night.

 

I generally check my desired flight 3-4 times a day on different websites, including the airline's. I'll give a couple of examples.

 

For my October cruise, the price from my home airport to Orlando hung around the $240 range for months (this is for weekend flights). Then, one Thursday after lunch, the price dropped to $202. I was about 6 weeks away from my cruise and thought this was a good price, because I expected it to go back up. I booked 2 seats feeling I had beat the odds and my patience had paid off. I checked back just for the heck of it and that same flight now is only $136 and has been that way for about 2 weeks. Go figure.

 

For my January cruise, my airfare was running $248 from another airport about 60 miles from home. Again, I kept checking and Monday was 3 weeks ago, I happened to check the airline's site and guess what? That same flight was selling for $96. Again, I booked 2 seats thinking I had beat the odds. That flight is now up to $258 with only 9 seats left as of yesterday.

 

Hindsight is 20/20 and obviously if I waited on my first flight, I could have saved even more than I did from the $240 to $202. However, if I waited on my second flight, I would be paying $258 instead of $96, or I would be making a 10 hour drive.

 

So, I don't know about all these tricks everyone talks about. My thinking is they just happened to hit a great price at the right time like I did on my second flight. I do agree with most of the other posters. If the price drops to a reasonable price that you are satisfied with and willing to pay, then book the flight and forget about the tricks. After booking the flight, the only thing left to worry about is packing and getting to the airport!